$1 for your first 5 DVDs
A penny a book
Oh, what amazing deals Columbia House, Scifi Book Club and the rest offer if you join up. All you have to do is pay shipping and handling, and agree to purchase at least 2-5 more items within the next 1-3 years. Not a bad deal, right. Well, make sure you read between the lines. Even the best deals have a catch and not all of them obvious.
The worst are sometimes not even in the agreement form. They are things you just didn’t think about when you signed up. Like the sheer volume of junkmail you will get when you become a member of one of these clubs. Even the best of them, the ones who don’t share your information with everyone else on the planet, send you weekly or monthly updates on their product. Or there’s having to remember to send in notice that you’re not interested in this months selection. If you don’t then you’ll receive a package in the mail in the next few weeks with crap you don’t want that’s already been charged to your credit card. Then you’re stuck returning the item to the post office to be returned to them, as long as you remembered not to open the box. If you did, more times than not you’re screwed and now you own the Rich Little Cookbook and a DVD of cats singing Christmas carols.
The good news is most of these clubs have online systems for canceling orders. Scifi Book Club, while my wife and I love their product and some of the prices, has been very rude about our sending back their selections. Even if we don’t open the box they are threatening to charge us for the books whether we keep them or not. My other complaint is that even though we are good customers and have surpassed our purchasing requirements the deals aren’t any better for us, and the shipping and handling is rather high. The only way to deal with this, is for us to drop our membership with them.
On the other hand, I’ve enjoyed membership with Columbia House DVD. They are courteous, offer better deals for their preferred members including reduced shipping charges, and they make declining the Monthly Selection simple and convenient. Their pricing is all over the place but if you keep an eye out you’ll find a number of good deals, few other retailers can match.
Just remember if you’re going to join one of these clubs read the fine print and think about if you can really live up to the expectations of being a member. There’s always a better deal out there so don’t be afraid to do your homework and wait for just the right one to come along. Otherwise, being a member of some of these purchasing clubs can be rewarding.
